


Reflections timestamp - Family, Friendship, and Fangirls

by morganoconner



Series: Reflections [2]
Category: Supernatural, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairing, Fourth Wall, M/M, Romance, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-28
Updated: 2011-02-28
Packaged: 2017-10-18 07:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/186240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganoconner/pseuds/morganoconner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel thinks he's settled in pretty well to the life he's carved out for himself here. But nothing could prepare him for a weekend spent at a Supernatural convention. <i>Nothing.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Reflections timestamp - Family, Friendship, and Fangirls

"This is such a bad idea."

Gabriel scoffed, rolling his eyes at Jared. "Would you _relax_ already?" he griped as they made their way through the crowded O'Hare International Airport.

 _Chicago_. It had been _decades_ since he'd last been here, and like hell was he going to let his boyfriend, his brother, _and_ his best friend come while he stayed behind and minded the chores like a dutiful housewife.

 _Balls to that_ , as Bobby Singer would have said, and Bobby Singer was a smart man.

They'd made it this far, anyway, the identification and passport holding up under security…which was a relief, because honestly, nearly a year and a half after his resurrection, Gabriel was still learning the limits on what he could do with his grace, now that he was only a step or two above fallen. And while he could have flown here himself and had the chance to stretch his wings a bit, there was a certain novelty in sitting in the cramped seats next to Jared, eating bad airplane food and laughing at Jared's bad jokes and resting his head on the taller man's shoulder when he grew content enough to sleep.

And he was grateful to have these documents, however pointless it really was in the scheme of things. He was grateful to have even more tangible evidence that said he belonged here. That he was a part of this world.

He glanced again at the passport, felt the warm smile that pulled across his face at the name he'd been given permission to use as his own from this point on.

 _Gabriel Collins_.

He really did have the coolest little brother in the whole universe. In _any_ universe, come to that.

Jared, meanwhile, was looking around warily, like any second now, they were going to get jumped by security and accused of Very Bad Things. "This is a really, really bad idea," he reiterated, and Gabriel sighed.

"C'mon Jare, seriously. What could go wrong?"

Jared's incredulous gaze met his, and he smiled a wide, innocent smile at his lover. "You're joking, right?" Jared asked. Gabriel's smile grew, making him groan. "You're not joking. Awesome." He stopped, pulling Gabriel off to the side, facing him and looking entirely too serious. "We're going to be in a hotel full of fans of the show. _Scary_ fans, fans who _adore_ us, even some fans who adore _you_. Fans who are going to do nothing but watch every single move we make for the next three days. Fans who have _no idea_ that you…or rather, that _Richard_ …is going to be there. And if they see you…"

"Hey, it's not like I can't act myself, y'know," Gabriel grumped. "I'm pretty sure I can pull off Speight's personality in a pinch, he's not _that_ complicated. And he promised us he'd stay in for the weekend, take the time to relax and let me play at being him if it came down to it. _He_ trusts me, and he's only met me once." And wasn't _that_ one of the strangest conversations Gabriel had ever had, in a _long_ life that was _filled_ with strange conversations. "If _he_ can trust me to pretend to be him – _if_ any of them even catch me there – why can't you?"

"It's just, there's gonna be so many questions…"

"So I tell them that I decided to crash the party, meet up with some buddies I haven't seen in a while," Gabriel said with a careless shrug. "C'mon babe, give me _some_ credit?"

Jared cringed. "And that. Pet names. Those have to go. The last thing Richard needs –"

"Oh for the love of…" Gabriel smacked Jared roundly upside his head, scowling. "You act like I have no brains. I'm not a complete idiot, you know. And I'm not as ignorant as you seem to think. _And_ it's not like we'll be the only ones hiding our relationship all weekend. I'm sure I'll survive."

Jared stared for another long moment, and then very slowly began to relax. "Okay," he finally said. "Okay, I know you're right, and it's not like they could actually guess. It'll be fine." He nodded, looking like he was trying to convince himself as he took a deep breath. "Maybe even fun."

Gabriel beamed. "There now, that's the spirit!"

~*~

"Aww, come on Bright Eyes, it'll be _fun_ ," Misha wheedled, crawling up the mattress and positioning himself above Jensen, a practiced puppy-dog expression dominating his features.

Jensen rolled his eyes even as he reached up to skim his hands over Misha's hips, unable to stop himself from touching when Misha was so damn _close_. "No," he said, trying to sound firm. "Not a chance in hell. Misha, if someone caught us –"

"They won't!" Misha's lip quivered, all crushed dreams and dejected sadness. The man was a _menace_ , and Jensen felt his will begin to crumble.

"Mish, come on, you know what would happen. It'll be bad enough as it is with all the questions about Dean and Cas we're gonna get. We talked about it, we _agreed_."

There was a pout of epic proportions. "When I agreed, I hadn't stopped to consider the ramifications of trying to sleep without you." He sighed heavily. "I'm _all_ the _way_ down the _hall_ , Jen!"

Jensen scoffed. "My god, alert the media. Down the hall, you said? That's practically another _planet_."

"I know!"

Levering himself up on his elbows, Jensen pressed his lips to Misha's in a brief kiss. "It's just a couple days," he said softly. "Then we'll be back home, and we can stay in bed together for the rest of our vacation if you want. Not move for three solid months. I promise."

Misha eyed him for a long second, then finally acquiesced with another sigh. "Fine," he said, his voice grumpy. "But I'm going to hold you to that, Ackles."

Jensen grinned. "I'm counting on it, Collins."

~*~

The next morning brought with it a discontent feeling that Gabriel tried to ignore, because dammit, he could live for a day or two without waking up to Jared being curled around him. He _could_ , and he was going to prove it.

The night before had been a good time at least, Jensen and Misha joining them for pizza after Jared and Gabriel had checked in, followed by some good old-fashioned drinking at one of the bars in the area. Bars and drinking had then led to dancing and _more_ drinking, because Gabriel had a sixth sense about where the best clubs in Chicago could be found, and all he had to do was flutter his lashes at Jared to have the kid eating out of the palm of his hand.

…Okay, maybe not really, but for once, none of them had been opposed to having some fun. Gabriel suspected they wanted to put off the idea of being on stage in front of hundreds of fans for as long as possible – or they were just trying to get so drunk that the buzz lasted the entire weekend – and he was perfectly willing to take advantage of their need for a distraction.

So the evening had been awesome, right up until they'd gotten back to the hotel, and Jared and Jensen had said goodnight and gone to their rooms with barely a backwards glance. Misha and Gabriel had commiserated together, until Misha had finally begged off as well, claiming an early morning.

Gabriel thought he'd normally be a little more upset, but the fact was, he was _here_ , after _weeks_ of coaxing and cajoling. He wasn't stuck in the big house in Vancouver with nothing but the dogs for company. And as much as he loved Sadie and Harley, he was glad for it.

So he was determined to enjoy himself, one way or another, even if he didn't get a big snuggly Jared to cuddle with for a couple days. He was still going to have fun. He _was_.

Famous last words, he'd think later.

~*~

The girl who finally asked the question was a tiny thing, with dark hair tied back in a ponytail and inquisitive caramel-colored eyes. She was wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt, and she looked perfectly normal, not at all like some of the crazier fans he'd dealt with today.

It _figured_ that she would be the one to step up to the microphone, bite her lip through a self-conscious smile, and say, "Um, this question is for Jensen…we're probably _all_ wondering…what was it like kissing Misha?"

Misha, who never seemed bothered by anything, the bastard, grinned at her through the cheers and catcalls. " _Way_ better than what it was like kissing Jensen, let me tell you," he quipped, and then raised an eyebrow at Jensen, waiting for an answer just as much as their audience was.

For the thousandth time, Jensen cursed the people who ran these things for thinking a joint panel between the two of them was a good idea. He'd never wished so strongly for the fans who thought he and Jared should be screwing each other stupid. At least _those_ comments and whispers were downright laughable.

He pasted a smirk on his face, glanced at Misha, then back down to the girl, who was looking decidedly unrepentant about her question as she giggled at Misha. "Well, I gotta tell you," he said, then paused for effect before finishing with, "I've had better."

Misha made a sound of outrage, cutting in with, " _Lies_. _All_ lies. He just doesn't want to admit that I'm the best he'll never get again."

Jensen snorted, shook his head and thanked the girl, and the next person stepped up to the microphone. Male, late twenties, hopefully _sane_.

The guy grinned. "Where do you think Dean and Cas's story would have gone if it hadn't been the finale?" he asked, shooting a smug look to someone seated in one of the front rows. Probably a girlfriend who'd either begged or dared him to go up and ask.

This was going to be a _long_ panel.

 

~*~

Here was the thing. Gabriel really _had_ intended to do exactly as he'd promised: keep his head down, stay out of sight, keep an excuse at the ready if he was by chance seen and recognized as Mr. Speight.

But he'd gotten hungry, and Jared was busy doing convention-y things, and it hadn't seemed like it would hurt anything to go and grab a quick lunch. How was _he_ supposed to know that the nice girl he'd struck up a conversation with was one of the people running the show? How was _he_ supposed to know she'd want to schedule some impromptu stage time to surprise the fans? He was he supposed to say _no?_

Which was why he was now grinning down at a small sea of happy faces, twirling a microphone in his hands as he got himself into character.

Jared was going to _kill_ him.

He'd snuck in earlier in the day to watch the hilarity of Jensen and Misha's panel, so he had a pretty good idea of how it worked. Answer a bunch of questions, make everyone laugh a few times, bow and exit stage left as soon as he got the signal. He'd watched a couple videos on Jared's computer of Richard on stage, just so he'd know how to interact with the man's fans _just in case_. And really, how hard could it be?

It _didn't_ seem so bad for a while. The first several questions were simple and fun – _Why'd you shave your scruff, Richard!_ and _Any new projects in the works?_ and _Richard, can I have a hug!_ That person got boo'd a little, but Gabriel was amused, and pulled the poor girl on stage and ruffled her hair just for fun.

So for the first half of the time he'd been given, the questions were easy, things he could fudge if he didn't have an outright answer. He was just starting to think it would be okay, that he'd get through this no problem-o and Jared would be none the wiser.

And then the real kicker came.

"So Richard," a red-faced older woman asked. "What are your thoughts about the meta episode? Do you wish they'd asked you to be involved?"

Gabriel blinked. "The what now?"

She laughed a little breathlessly, the flush deepening. "Sorry! The… There was an episode of Supernatural that had Sam and Dean getting thrown into the real world. Meeting the actors, finding out it was a television show… It seemed like something the trickster would have done, I was just wondering if you were asked, or how you think he would have handled it?"

"Uh…"

Gabriel hadn't watched much of the show, except for the finale. He didn't need the twinges of pain it would bring, and hadn't really cared to know anything beyond the snippets he'd gotten from Jared. But this… His family here hadn't prepared him for this.

Richard would know this question. Gabriel was pretty sure he remembered the guy mentioning how often he interacted with fans online. There was no way he could cheat his way out of it, and definitely not while feeling like he'd been sucker-punched in the gut.

It was ridiculous. One little question shouldn't have this effect on him, but he couldn't focus beyond seeing, feeling, _remembering_ what it had been like…

Somewhere beyond the chaos in his head, he became aware of a minor ruckus, a murmuring throughout the crowd that swelled into happy cheering, but it wasn't until he felt Jensen's hand settle on his shoulder that he knew what it meant, was able to bring himself back a little bit.

"Fact is," Jensen said, grinning at the girl, "Sam and Dean had enough issues last year with Balthazar, I don't think they were ready to handle the guy's mentor at the same time." He winked at her, turned to Gabriel. "I dunno though, maybe she has a point. Why didn't you bring your Pepsi-lovin' ass back to Vancouver, you slacker?"

Gratefully, Gabriel let Jensen take the reigns on this one, let himself sink into easy, familiar banter with his best friend until he felt himself settle again, felt the jumping in his stomach ease up and his breath start to flow freely again.

~*~

"I had photos with Misha, or I'da been there sooner," Jensen said after, when they were hanging out in a private room, taking a breather before he had one final panel to do with Jared.

"Just glad you got there at all," Gabriel mumbled.

"You okay?" Jensen asked, worried.

Gabriel shrugged. "Just wasn't exactly the question I was expecting, y'know? Hit a little too close to home, for a minute." He tilted his head, his expression turning thoughtful as he gazed at Jensen. "Gotta tell you though, I think I'd remember if you and Jay suddenly turned into Dean and Sam. What gives? That doesn't fit with the pattern."

"Oh, trust me, I'm sure they went somewhere, but it sure as hell wasn't _here_ ," Jensen said with a snort. "Balthazar threw them into a world where Misha was a twitter-happy crybaby, Jared was a pretentious asshole married to Genevieve Cortese – that would be the girl who played Ruby – and Jensen and Jared hated each other."

Gabriel blinked. "Huh." Considered. "Well okay then." Scowled. " _Balthazar_ , really? Guy was always a little too full of himself."

Jensen laughed. "Yeah, I got that impression." He shook his head, still grinning a little. "So, you sure you're good? I mean, I kind of want to yell at you for being an idiot, but from what I could tell, you were handling yourself pretty well until that happened."

"I'm good," Gabriel assured him, smiling. " _Really_ , I am. It's not like I could ever regret staying."

Jensen knew the truth of that. You couldn't watch Gabriel and Jared together and _not_ know it, and that wasn't even taking into account the bond between him and Misha, or even the friendship between him and Jensen. Hell, half the fun of dating Misha was getting to commiserate with Gabriel about their idiot boyfriends. It was sappy and stupid and strangely perfect, and Jensen was pretty sure Gabriel felt the same way. So he didn't doubt that Gabriel was happy here.

But it was also fairly hard to miss the way his eyes tightened whenever he heard Castiel's name, or the way he'd get that faraway look in his eyes that meant he was thinking about his old family and his old home.

Gabriel interrupted his thoughts by chucking a pillow at him. "Stop worrying so loudly," he said, rolling his eyes. His grin seemed genuine, and Jensen finally nodded and let it go.

~*~

"You did _what?_ "

Gabriel snapped himself up a lollipop, more to have something to focus on that wasn't Jared's disappointment than for actual want of the candy. He shrugged a little. "I know it was dumb, but nothing bad happened. I handled myself just fine, thanks."

"You got _lucky_ ," Jared said, scowling. "Damn it, Gabriel…"

Gabriel peeked up at him. "You really pissed at me?" he asked, pouting.

" _Yes_ ," Jared snapped, then immediately flinched, like the word hurt him as much as it hurt Gabriel. "No. _Maybe_." He sighed. "Just…you're sure everything was okay?"

"Cross my heart. Even remembered to mimic Speight's signature when I signed that weird-ass banner – good to know my limited powers are good for some things, am I right? And I reluctantly said no to doing autographs or pictures. Okay?"

Jared nodded, his eyes softening. "Okay. Sorry I yelled, I just –"

"I get it." Gabriel grinned. "You get all worried and overprotective. It's cute, really, I like it." He stretched his senses to make sure they were alone, stood on his tiptoes, and kissed away Jared's grumpy frown. "Now get, before you're late to see your adoring fans." He winked, smacked Jared on the ass to get him moving.

Jared's yelp made the entire encounter worth it.

~*~

Jensen could probably have predicted Misha's entrance halfway through his panel with Jared. Misha liked crashing panels, liked the way the fans always lit up when something unexpected happened…even things that weren't _really_ all that unexpected. So Jensen probably knew it was coming, in the back of his mind.

What he _couldn't_ have predicted was the way Misha's eyes lit on him, the way he smiled, the way he asked Jensen a question without ever saying a word. And the way every inhibition flew out the window and Jensen silently answered ' _yes_ ', his heart pounding in giddy anticipation. Because really, he wondered, what did they have to lose?

"Sorry girls," Misha said, grinning out at the crowd of rabid fangirls. "Oh, and guy. Hey there, guy!" He waved. "Yeah, so, sorry to crash the party, I just needed to steal my boyfriend for half a second and I'll get right out of your hair."

So saying, he turned to Jensen, his eyes sparkling. Jensen was peripherally aware of the perfect hush that had fallen over the fans, none of them knowing what was going on or what to expect, but any awareness he had of them disintegrated at the touch of Misha's lips to his own.

He grasped Misha's hand, held tightly, and never heard the moment the cheering started.

~*~

Gabriel decided that, whatever sanity his brother had once possessed, he'd clearly lost it somewhere between Vancouver and Chicago. But as he watched them from the shadowed corner of the auditorium, he had to admit that insanity looked pretty good from where he was standing.

He didn't think he'd ever seen Misha _or_ Jensen look happier.

Jared, standing off to the side, was regarding them with an amused expression, shaking his head and rolling his eyes and coughing not-surreptitiously into the microphone. When Misha pulled away from Jensen, he looked entirely unrepentant, and Jared gave him an unimpressed look. "Y'know, I'd probably be more annoyed that you two couldn't do this during your _own_ panel, but then I wouldn't have an excuse to totally steal your thunder."

A perplexed look crossed Misha's features, and even Jensen looked confused. Gabriel's heart rate sped up, and he could no more have stopped the grin from crossing his face than he could have stopped the sun from rising…which he hadn't been able to do in well over a year now, thank you very much.

Jared turned to the audience. "Yeah, that's right. I got one better." He paused, let his lips turn up into a smile that took over his whole face. "I'm gettin' married, y'all!"

Hundreds of frantic voices all raised in questions and shouts and more wild cheers. Gabriel leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms, still grinning up at the stage. He caught Jared's eyes when they flashed over to his corner, and he didn't miss the way they lit up, or the way the smile on his face became more pronounced, more _real_.

He also didn't miss the way Jensen and Misha looked utterly _gobsmacked_. It was _fantastic_.

Laughing, Jared waited long enough for the voices to calm down a little, then spoke again, a little bit of Texas still in his voice, the way it always was when he was at his happiest. "My fiancé was real sorry he couldn't be here, he really wanted to meet y'all." More screaming, and more than one ' _Oh my God!_ 's from a few of the fans, and Jared laughed again. "Yeah, you didn't mishear that. My _boyfriend_ and I are getting married next month."

This time, the screams were downright deafening.

~*~

Jensen smacked Jared soundly the second they were back in their hotel, safely ensconced in Jared's room. "You jackass, you couldn't have _warned_ us?"

"Oh, sure, just like I had so much advance warning before Misha decided to mack on you onstage!" Jared replied, rubbing at the back of his head. "Weren't you two all about your careers and keeping a low profile two days ago?"

"Yeah, well, what about you, Mr. Look-at-me-I'm-gay-and-I'm-getting-married!"

"Yeah, well, at least I didn't have to flaunt it in front of a thousand desperate fans!"

"Yeah, well –"

"Are you enjoying this as much as I am?" Gabriel asked Misha in a loud whisper.

"Indubitably," Misha replied, snickering. "It's almost better than Springer."

Jensen glared hard at the both of them, caught Jared doing the same. But the second they dared to glance at each other, their lips twitched into smiles, and then they were laughing, loud and bright, and the effect was completely ruined.

"Well," Jared gasped after a moment. "Least if it's our last convention, we're going out with a bang."

Jensen snorted. "That's probably putting it mildly." But, he reflected, glancing at Misha out of the corner of his eye…he didn't really mind so much.

~*~

"Home sweet home," Jared sighed, tossing their bags onto the floor and spinning to catch hold of Gabriel.

Gabriel snuggled into his arms without protest, happy to finally be able to hold onto him again after the insanity of the weekend. "Mmmm," he murmured. " _Finally_."

Jared kissed the top of his head, tightening his hold. "Chicago not everything you remembered and loved?"

"Nah, it was," Gabriel said, lifting his head for a kiss, which Jared granted readily. "I just realized I have something far better here."

"Aww, home and a family and two big lovable dogs?"

"Psh, _no!_ " Gabriel paused. "Well, okay, yes, those too. But I was talking about the better chocolate… _Oww!_ "


End file.
